Apparently, Flossing Is One Big Lie

3/08/2016 12:33:02 PM

Everything you thought you knew is wrong.

You know that sinking feeling you got when you realised that Santa Clause wasn’t real? And that it was in fact your dad hiding all those Easter eggs in the garden and not a fluffy bunny in a waistcoat? Yeah, that’s how we feel right now, except we’re feeling a little salty about the fact that we’ve been lied to about grinding string against our gums since we were small children.

An Associated Press reporter, Jeff Donn, may have blown the lid on the true effectiveness flossing has on dental hygiene, or, more accurately, the lack of effectiveness flossing has. Speaking to the American Dental Association (ADA), Donn reported that the ADA "acknowledged weak evidence” behind mandated flossing, but “blamed research participants who didn't floss correctly”. The US Federal Government similarly "acknowledged the effectiveness of flossing had never been researched, as required".

This isn’t the first time flossing has been doubted as a necessary part of dental hygiene routines. Another report by The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews revealed there was "weak, very unreliable evidence from 10 studies that flossing plus toothbrushing may be associated with a small reduction in plaque at 1 and 3 months”.

However you shouldn’t be binning your floss just yet. Whilst the overwhelming benefits of flossing are, in Donn’s word, “unproven”, this could be attributed to the quality of research instead of the evidence itself.

Donn noted that several trials used “out-dated methods or tested few people” and therefore shouldn’t be relied upon to represent the true effectiveness of flossing. He also commented that some trial patients used an incorrect technique during flossing (a “sawing motion”, instead of “up and down the sides of the teeth”).

So, what is the truth about our thin and stringy friend? The overall verdict seems to be: it won’t kill you if you do, it won’t kill you if you don’t. Flossing does seem to help dislodging fool particles and some plaque, which is why most dentists will still recommend it, but it probably won’t make your teeth fall out if you skip it.